There was a time in these United States when stories about the kindness of strangers were commonplace. These days if someone helps an elderly person lift a bag of dog food into their shopping cart it's almost front page news. I miss those times.

Now, some people you may never know, never meet, never get to thank could be footing the bill for your college education. Many students and families in these less than glorious economic times are turning to the Internet for help with tuition, books, housing, and more.

 Just in Louisiana alone, we’ve seen over 1,600 GoFundMe campaigns raise nearly $650,000 from nearly 11,000 donations.

That's what  GoFundMe Spokesperson Bobby Whithorne told the Louisiana Radio Network. He said over the past three years the Internet funding site has had over 130,000 campaigns on their website raise over $60 million for kids in college.

Whithorne did say that the majority of funding for students does come from people close to them. However, there are plenty of anonymous donors that step up to the plate as well.

Alumni who donate to students at the college. It’s just a matter of having students jump online, create a campaign and tell the potential donors why they’re raising money.

I think that is awesome. Whithorne went on to offer this advice for students who might be contemplating GoFundMe as an option for college money.

Be open and transparent about why you’re raising funds, post your campaign, share it with your social networks. There are folks out there that want to support you so it’s just a matter of telling your story.

Personally, I think it's a shame that motivated students have to beg for college money. The TOPS program was supposed to provide that funding for our best and brightest but unfortunately we didn't elect our best and brightest to oversee the people's money.

I also think it's a shame than a "D" student can get a free ride to college because he or she can shoot, hit, or carry a ball. Then to make it even worse those same entitled students leave the university before their degree program is up and they never return and they never give back. I know there are some that do return, give back, and become great ambassadors for their school, but most don't.

 

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